I tried very hard to find SOMETHING to post about for Music Monday that was in no way related to the recent loss of Michael Jackson. With the world still reeling from his death, the media is still all over this “news”, and the fact that yesterday was supposed to be the beginning of his 50 show “comeback” tour doesn’t help. There’s still speculation over his cause of death, as well as the impending custody battle over his three kids. There’s stories of them possibly being exploited and marketed by their grandfather, the way their father was before them and there’s the heartbreaking story of his daughter purchasing a broken heart necklace after his death, leaving one piece in his coffin and vowing to “wear the other half forever”. Heartbreaking stuff.
But, life goes on and so must the music. Tell this to the people who write the music news! In light of the fact that NOTHING caught my eye and inspired me, I’m going to have to USE Michael Jackson to form my own information. So, today’s blog will focus on the young man from “Britain’s Got Talent” who wowed us all at the King of Pop’s memorial. His name is Shaheen Jafargholi and he is only 12 years old. Apparently, he made his mark on the British talent show by singing songs by the Jackson 5 and, reportedly, Michael Jackson saw a performance on YouTube and invited Shaheen to join him on his This Is It tour in London. While poor Shaheen missed that opportunity, he did move the crowd at Jackson’s memorial with a rendition of ‘Who’s Loving You”. It was almost as if the boy had channeled the sound of a young Michael Jackson! Although his American debut was under the most terrible of circumstances, I see a career in this boy’s future.
On Thursday, June 25, the world of music abruptly changed forever. Michael Jackson (aka- “The King of Pop”) passed away in Los Angeles after suffering from cardiac arrest at the age of 50. I never imagined that I would feel his loss so profoundly, but I’m finding myself drawn to the news and sad that he’s gone. And, since I’d only recently blogged about his upcoming London show schedule, I felt it only appropriate that I write a tribute post as well.
Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana. He was the seventh of nine children. At a very young age, Michael was thrust, along with his four brothers, into the spotlight as The Jackson 5. Everyone remembers the phenomenal family act, but Michael was destined for more. He moved on from The Jackson 5 and become the single best-selling artist of all time. Songs like “Billie Jean”, “Bad”, and “Thriller”, as well as countless others, secured Michael’s spot as “The King of Pop).
Unfortunately, there were times when his rocky personal life overshadowed his remarkable talent. There were the “marriages of convenience” to Lisa Marie Presley and Debbie Rowe (who, in my opinion, was merely a gold digger–who else would give up her children for an “undisclosed lump sum”?). Then, there were the plastic surgeries and skin disease that made him completely unrecognizable as the 11-year old Michael who won hearts with The Jackson 5.
Sadly, the most overpowering parts of his personal life were the rumors and accusations of inappropriate conduct with young boys at his Neverland Ranch. I, personally, choose to believe in his innocence. I believe, as others have said in the past few days, that he was just a lonely little boy trapped in an adult’s body. I don’t think he was allowed to have much of a childhood so he lived vicariously through the children to whom he opened his heart and his home. Besides, as a parent, I know that, if someone had done inappropriate things to MY child, there’s no way I would let them “settle out of court” for ANY amount of money!! Adults want to condemn what they cannot fully understand, and Michael was the target of many cruel jokes, making it no wonder he preferred the company of children. He often said that children “weren’t mean to him”. I might be wrong about it, but with Michael gone, the truth is gone with him and I’m glad I’ll never know for sure!
I find Michael’s life almost as sad as his untimely death. He appeared to be a sad, lonely, sheltered human being who longed for love, acceptance and understanding. In the end, though, he had more of all of those things than he likely realized. He was truly an amazing talent and he will be deeply missed.
“If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with.” —Michael Jackson
(August 29, 1958–June 25, 2009)
I love a good musical. I even sometimes love a bad musical. I’m hoping that the new “Footloose” proves to be one of the good ones. They’ve already cast Chace Crawford, which is someone that I, being 30 years old, have never heard of, and they’re in talks to cast Julianne Hough opposite him. Most of us “older folks” (and I use “older” loosely, because I’m not that old) will know Julianne from Dancing With The Stars. She’s a fabulous dancer and she’s even coming into her own as a singer. I’m not as much a fan of her singing, because a) I don’t really like country music that much and b) she has one of those mousy, child-like voices that doesn’t appeal to me. But, she’s great if you’re into that kind of thing. At any rate, I think she’d do very well in that role and I’m almost a little excited about it! Besides, maybe if Julianne successfully crosses from dancing to music to movies, her brother, Derek, will follow in her footsteps, as he did with DWTS, and he makes GREAT eye-candy!!
Time will tell if Julianne gets the role, but even if she doesn’t, I think I’m excited about a “Footloose” remake!
If only I were about 7 or 8 years younger, with one less kid in tow…I would have been first in line for Bonnaroo this past weekend! To be honest, I’d never heard of Bonnaroo until a girl I know was lucky enough to get to go. For those who have been living under the same rock I have, Bonnaroo is an annual music festival–seemingly not unlike Woodstock, in certain ways–that takes place in June each year. This year, it was held last weekend, June 11-14, in Manchester, Tennessee. Manchester is located 60 miles southeast of Nashville.
The music acts that perform there are insane!! This year, they had Bruce Springsteen, Phish, Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails, Snoop Dogg, Erykah Badu, Merle Haggard, Elvis Costello and Jimmy Buffett, just to name a few! Tickets are in the neighborhood of $250, depending on when you buy them, but knowing what you get for that, I think it’s well worth it!
One of the really neat things that grabbed my attention was the “Silent Disco” they have at night. Each person who comes is given a set of headphones to wear and everyone is listening to the same song and dancing along, but, to the average joe sitting outside, it would appear that they’re dancing with no music at all. This was designed to be fun for the night owls, while not disturbing the campers nearby.
And, if you need a break from the music, they have many comedians who perform nightly, as well. This year they had Jimmy Fallon and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog as well as many others.
I would LOVE to be able to go to Bonnaroo one year. I think it would be amazing and super fun!! Anyone wanna come along??
Check out these MP3 Downloads from Bonnaroo (I highly recommend Trani by Kings of Leon!)
Now that American Idol has ended (and, for the record, not the way I wanted), I can focus my attention on other things. Today, the news is surrounding Susan Boyle, who has been the shocker on Britain’s Got Talent. For anyone who has yet to see her on the news, this is a frumpy looking woman with a beautiful voice. She got many eye rolls from the audience as well as Simon Cowell, who we ALL know as the “evil one” from American Idol. In his defense, at first glance, she honestly wouldn’t LOOK like someone you’d buy a CD from….but she can belt out a song like nobody’s business! She made it to the second round in the competition and will sing in the show’s finale on Saturday. I have to say, I’m rooting for her. Obviously, being in the US, my opinion doesn’t count, but I really hope she wins it for all of us who are older and don’t fit the stereotype. Listen to Susan’s talent in the semi-finals where she brought tears to the eyes of the judges! (and being a CATs fan myself, mine too! beautiful job!)
